Daily Junction.mobi portalThe solutions are not complicated. They are politically difficult.
First, scrap the two-child benefit cap. It is the single most harmful policy and the easiest to reverse. The cost (£1.3 billion per year) is a rounding error in a £1.2 trillion public spending budget.
Second, uprate benefits in line with inflation. Social security has been deliberately eroded by below-inflation increases. Restoring its value would prevent further increases in poverty.
Third, invest in social housing and rent controls. High housing costs are the biggest driver of poverty. Building 100,000 social homes per year and introducing rent controls would reduce housing costs and free up income for other essentials.
Fourth, increase the National Living Wage to the real Living Wage. Workers should not need benefits to top up poverty wages. Employers should pay enough to live on.
Fifth, make child poverty a legal duty. The Child Poverty Act 2010 required the government to meet statutory targets to reduce child poverty by 2020. It was repealed in 2016 when it became clear the targets would be missed. Restoring legal accountability would force governments to prioritise child poverty.
4.3 million children in the UK live in poverty, representing 30% of all children. The two-child benefit cap affects 1.6 million children and pushes 300,000 into poverty. Two-thirds of children in poverty live in working families, driven by low wages, insecure work, and high housing costs. Ending child poverty would cost £19 billion per year (0.7% of GDP), primarily through scrapping the two-child cap, uprating benefits, and investing in social housing. The UK's child poverty rate (30%) is double that of Denmark (11%) and Finland (10%), showing that high child poverty is a policy choice, not an economic necessity. The question is whether we have the political courage to choose differently.